[RIDES] Steve Stone and His 1963 Corvette Have Traveled 582,000 Miles Together

By
Mitch Talley
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9
4095

[RIDES] Steve Stone and His 1963 Corvette Have Traveled 582,000 Miles Together

Photo Credit: Steve Stone


If Steve Stone said he loves his 1963 Corvette convertible to the moon and back, he wouldn’t be exaggerating.

In fact, over the past 57 years, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa man has driven his black on black Stingray the equivalent of traveling to the moon and back … and about halfway back again!

That’s right, he’s driven his one-owner Corvette slightly over 582,000 miles – through two marriages, the births of his children, on the autocross, at the drag strip, and even a lap as part of the parade before the Indianapolis 500.

[RIDES] Steve Stone and His 1963 Corvette Have Traveled 582,000 Miles Together


Just 18 years old when he bought his dream car with an L76 327/340 horsepower V8 engine (a $107.60 option), Stone immediately put the pedal down, covering 33,575 miles that first year, eating through the 24,000-mile warranty in just eight months.

Another 30,000 miles rolled past during the second year, but then Stone got his draft notice in May of 1965. While fortunate to miss out on service in Vietnam, he did put the car up for sale while he was in the military.

[RIDES] Steve Stone and His 1963 Corvette Have Traveled 582,000 Miles Together


As fate would have it, though, no one bought the Corvette, and it continued to be his faithful companion as the decades rolled past.

Now, at about age 75, Stone says he has no plans to part with the vehicle, and who can blame him? After all, why stop halfway to the moon again when such a faithful companion has been there with him this long?


Source:
HotRod.com

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[RIDES] Michael’s 1964 Corvette Sting Ray

 



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9 COMMENTS

  1. I see what appears to be a trailer hitch on Steve’s ’63 — possibly bolted to the rear bumper brackets. My understanding is that there is a more robust type of trailer hitch for C2s that attaches more securely but still allows full access to the spare tire carrier. Does anyone know where I could find such a hitch?

  4. I met Steve and his wifwe at a car show in Wisconsin, several years ago!! What a nice man and wife and a great looking car!!

  5. Man can I relate.
    I was 18 when I bought my ’76 new.
    But I’ve only covered 76,000 miles over the last 44 years.
    I’ll never part with mine either Steve…!

  6. Probably only needed tires, Plugs, brakes and about 3 clutch’s. He might have had the heads done due the sorry valve stem seals. But short block Chevy Engines are bullet proof!

  7. Norman — I have tried various Google searches and have also searched a number of Corvette parts supplier and trailer hitch supplier websites, to no avail. For example, the etrailer.com website only has hitches for Corvettes back to 1975. U-Haul’s website says they will custom make a hitch for me if I bring my C2 Corvette to their facility in Arizona and leave it with them for several days (not gonna happen). I have seen a reference on a Corvette forum to a C2 hitch made years ago by a company called Valley, but a search of their website turned up nothing.

  9. Thanks to all who commented so far.

    I just found this article and so I thought that I could offer a couple of comments. I do have a Valley hitch which bolts to the leaf spring holes in the rear end on added tabs. The rear support mounts off of tabs bolted through the bumper and into the rear frame. I am not surprised that there is no Valley information. The Corvette Forum thread that my hitch was discussed was:

    https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c1-and-c2-corvettes/3020495-trialer-hitch-for-mid-year.html

    You can contact me by finding me on Corvette Forum C2 general discussion and send me a private message. I will gladly answer questions and quite possibly help with defining my hitch for you.

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